1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to implements for grooming, aerating, and dethatching lawn or turf surfaces. More particularly, the present invention is a device intended to be connected to a reel-type lawn mower as a replacement for the original front roller, to perform the function of grooming, dethatching, trimming and aerating a lawn while simultaneously performing the normal function of the original front roller, that being to support the cutting head of the mower at a desired distance above the lawn surface.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
The benefits derived through aeration, dethatching, and grooming of lawn and turf surfaces are commonly known. Past and presently known aerators have relied upon a power source to perform their action. This need for a power source has complicated the structure of these devices and generally precluded their use with lawn maintenance equipment not originally designed for use with these known aerators. A further concern develops in the case of a groomer unit which is disposed between the cutting head and the front roller of a reel-type mower, the concern being that the aerator prevents the cutting head from accurately following the contour of the ground as it is distanced further away from the front roller which functions to determine how close to the ground surface the cutting head travels. This inaccuracy often results in scalping or other damage to the lawn surface and otherwise proves to render less than desirable results.
The present invention eliminates the problems associated with the prior known groomers as it requires no external power source to perform its functions, replaces the front roller on lawn mowers or similar devices thereby giving them additional practical utility, accuracy in cutting heights is maintained, and the device is adaptable to lawn maintenance equipment of various configurations and/or designs and supplies the support provided by the front roller on conventional known reel-type lawn mowers.